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Assessment of anaemia in pregnant women attending antenatal Care in medical facilities within Ekwulobia, Aguata local government area, Anambra state Nigeria

Oguizu AD, Orjiekwe OA

Introduction: Anaemia is one of the public health problems in developing countries. It is an indirect cause of maternal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: The study was carried out to determine the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women attending antenatal care in Medical Facilities within Ekwulobia, Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State.

Methods: Two hundred and two pregnant women were purposively selected for the survey. The pregnant women were selected from General hospital, Cynic specialist hospital, Primary Health Centre and St. Victoria specialist hospital all in Ekwulobia. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaire and biochemical analysis. Data were collected on background information, personal data, socio-economic and environmental factors. Blood samples were collected from the antecubital vein to determine the Hemoglobin concentration of the respondents using automated analyzer.

Results: The finding revealed that 36.2% women were anaemic. About 33.7% were mildly anaemic while 2.5% were moderately anaemic. The result revealed 43.3%, 34.8% and 28.8% of pregnant women in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester respectively had their hemoglobin concentration less than 11 g/dl (mild anaemia). About 3.3% and 2.5% of pregnant women in their 2nd and 3rd trimesters respectively had moderate anaemia (less than 9 g/dl). There was a relationship (p<0.05) between the women’s haemoglobin concentration and education (p=0.008), occupation (p=0.027) and birth spacing (p=0.036).

Conclusion: The prevalence of anaemia in the pregnant women was high indicating a public health problem.